jvi Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 as an older "at home" player I improvise a lot and find I play cause I love the many tones the instrument produces, from a whisper to a roar,ringing to stinging to singing, playing songs isnt what I do most, does anyone else play more for the sounds than the song ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I do a lot, I do work on some songs but it isn't my goal at this point. I enjoy exploring on the guitar because I am still new to the instrument so that is part of the reason I do I am finding new tones, new chords and new effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Very good topic - I think you can get so close to the music, , , so involved, if you like, that it turns into sounds no matter what you do and how you approach it. It's like being a skilled forester and getting so deep into the woods - so used to and clever about it - it simply isn't a forest no more. Not like we normal people experience it anyway. A huge scientist/atom-physicist here once said he couldn't go to the opera because his knowledge of mass kept spoiling the illusion of the performance on stage. Well, that's something quite different, but still has to with getting kind of caught up in your trade. Yes, I sometimes play for the sounds and nature of a guitar - but always keep a safety line down to the songs melodies-feelings-words-moods-expressions they are supposed to carry. Getting lost in sound/systems and that only, is blind route, which may lead to some sort of depression. The thought of losing contact to music'n'tunes is the thought of loss. It would make any ears poorer. Well the philosophy is universal : If you live in a castle and it turns into nothing but big walls, windows and rooms, it's time to move out a while. Perhaps even find a shack. Apart from that I have uncontrollable ghost-overtones on a couple of acoustics when they are tuned a half step down. A rosewood dread and a J-45. They both deliver an unwanted A when playing a plain G chord. Rather disturbing. Strange thing is they both have cut through saddle. Back to Tom Dooley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Creating sounds that enhance songs is what it's all about I believe. For achieving this goal, exploring the sonic range of an instrument is the very way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Capmaster is "on target" for me. I like looking for different sounds that I can use in my songs. Different octaves, etc. all are part of what I look for at times. I like the sound of a slide at the right moment and I find myself doing more of that in different places on the guitar. Don't do it just for only the sound. I'm looking for a sound I can use in my songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58 Relic Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Really good topic . I have found very quickly that playing and changing the tone on an acoustic guitar is so in the fingers ( via the mind and the heart ) . My music buddy travels round America in a Motor Home with his dear wife for four months of the year , this leaves me time to experiment with different techniques ( he plays Tenor Uke and Keyboards ) we also work on songs during this time so on his return we can really make the most of the music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Blues, good blues, is at it's heart, a matter of repetition. The same thing played over, and over, and over... What makes it worthwhile, is it HAS to be good, worth playing over, and over...lol So at it's very essence, it isn't how much you can play, it's how GOOD you can make ONE thing sound. To put the beauty into a boogie. Find boogie and add beauty, or find beauty and add boogie. Between a man and a woman, who chased who first? Didn't they each exist separately before there was love? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Blues is a good example here , blues King has shown us many times what a feel he has for this stuff . Others try it and it just sounds like same crap over and over , it's all in the touch (the fancy pants runs and tricks help). Take John lee hooker - all in the sound , way more expressive than most I can remember way back when I first got the acoustic , had an electric for about a month and was never touched , weird as I was and still am a lover of rock music , but even when I could t play well , I was happy with the sound the guitar , I just loved the noise it made . ... And it was a cheap *** guitar !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Probably both with lots of improvisation between being the glue! And to do that you need to know how in the words of Lonnie Johnson. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Sonic explorations are grist for the musical mill. It's only by noodling and experimenting that we may find those sounds that will enhance our songs, as capmaster implied earlier. In the end though, people come to the club, bar, dance hall, block party, class reunion, or wedding to hear songs. Why does it have to be an either/or situation? My best advice is to just play the guitar. Learn songs, write songs, and on the way, create many happy sounds. :mellow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mafy31 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I am also very sensitive to the sound the instrument produces and it is for a large part why i enjoy playing. I sometimes just strum a single G chord and listen the instrument vibrate, deep sounds, sustain, just for the orgasm it gives (to my ears of course...). Consequently, placing a capo also changes the sound (not talking about height). Dryer, Mellower, Woody, Bright, sustain, resonance... I believe the songs i play the most are often the ones with the best "sounds", to my ears, that my instruments give me, not just the songs i like. It also plays a role in the way i play them. This phenomenon is probably the reason why we enjoy playing acoustics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Orgasm !? What guitar do you play ? 😳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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